Sir Paul McCartney was protected by a “ring of steel” for his two-day stay for a concert in Bogota, Colombia.

The former Beatle was guarded by 1,400 police officers – the same number of security personnel protecting the 12,000 delegates at the 2009 Conservative party conference – from the moment he arrived in the city.

As more than 30,000 people attended the concert at the El Campin Stadium, police were out in force on all pedestrian walkways, around the entrance and all street corners within a five block radius of the stadium.

Bogota has one of the highest crime rates in the world and so city officials took no chances with the singer’s security, which included Sir Paul, 69, and his wife Nancy Shevell, 51, entering and leaving the country via the military airport.

A source said: “From the moment Paul’s plane landed to the moment he left, officials designated 1,400 police for the whole two days.